Magic Dice
by Mistress of Azure
Summary: YGOHP xover Weird things have been happening to Otogi…then an owl lands on his window! Watch out England, out favorite dice wielding teen is headed to Hogwarts! Written as challenge for WSJsama. HIATUS
1. Intelligent, logical people

WHHHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!! *runs into a pole* 

Oww…anyway, welcome to my crossover! *throws confetti* This is written for the goddess of fanfiction, Wingleader Sora Jade! *crowd cheers* On her website, there is a challenge page. It is full of fun little plotbunnies that she came up with, and doesn't have time to write. So she's letting other people do them for her! ^__^ *glomps Otogi*

Otogi: *groans and attempts to free himself* Why me, WSJ? Why me?

Bakura: *snicker* At least it's not me. 

Anyway, here is the summary she put on her site:

**Title: **_Magic Dice_  
**Rating:** PG/PG-13   
**Genre:** action/adventure/drama   
**Possible couples:** Draco/Hermione/Otogi   
**Notes:** YGO/HP, set any HP year   
**Summery:** Things just haven't been going right for Otogi Ryuuji. First he reached for something, only to have it float into his hands. Then it was the dice that exploded when he touched them. _Then_ he managed to catch a few things on fire when sparks shot out of his fingers…and then an owl landed on his windowsill. Watch out England, Yu-Gi-Oh's most under-appreciated bishonen is headed for Hogwarts!

I'm putting this as year five, and disregarding Order of the Phoenix entirely. Savvy? 

Also, no Draco/Hermione. Sorry if anyone was looking forward to it. I just couldn't, ah…do justice to the couple.

Enjoy! WHHHEEEEEEEEEEE- *smack* What is with this damn pole?!

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Japanese

-kun: honorific; shows friendship between equals (I think…)

Baka: Idiot, stupid

Koinu: Puppy

Ja ne: Later, see you later

Minna: Everyone

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Disclaimer: Yu-Gi-Oh…? Nope, not yet. Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling, so I don't own that either. I have nothing. I feel so poor…*sniffle* 

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Magic Dice

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Otogi stretched and sat up on the couch, glancing at the clock as he did so. The glaring red numbers proclaimed that the time was seven thirty. He made an annoyed noise as he combed his fingers through his jet-black hair. He had decided to take a quick nap when he got home at five, but it seemed he had been more tired than he had thought. He still needed to finish his homework, he remembered with disappointment. 

He grabbed his bag and pulled out his work, groaning when he saw the vocabulary worksheet before him. Grumbling, he stood up and headed across the room to get the dictionary. 

Said dictionary happened to have been placed on the top shelf of the bookcase. Otogi was fairly tall, but unfortunately for him, the bookcase was taller. He reached for the book, but it stayed just out of his reach. 

He stood on his toes, stretching as far as he could. His fingertips brushed the spine of the dictionary. He gritted his teeth in growing frustration. "C'mere, you stupid book…" 

The leather bound volume lifted itself off the shelf and dropped neatly into his hands.

He stumbled backwards, and stood for a moment staring at the book in shock. Now, Otogi Ryuuji had always fancied himself as a rather rational person. In his view, he was quite intelligent and logical. Intelligent, logical people do not have books float into their hands. 

This was why he refused to believe that the dictionary had jumped off the shelf when he told it to. 

_Of course it didn't_, he scolded himself mentally. _Dictionaries don't fly!_

Of course not. He was still tired. That had to be it. "Mind's playing tricks on me" he said with a wry grin. "I must have shaken the shelf…and the book fell off. That's it." He set the dictionary on the coffee table. "I'll finish this in the morning" he mumbled as he headed for the doorway. He paused for a moment to glance over his shoulder at the book, resting innocently on the table, before shaking his head and snapping off the light. 

_Weird_.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"_'Togi_! Come play with meeeeee!" Otogi winced at the grating shriek of his younger cousin. Her curly black pigtails bounced as she grabbed him around the waist, effectively knocking the air out his lungs. With her large blue eyes, she was clearly the spawn of Satan, a demon child so evil Lucifer himself cowered before her. One smile from her could paralyze the strongest man, thus allowing her to escape from all crimes with impunity. 

As her babysitter, only Otogi could see the fires of hell blazing in those innocent eyes. 

"Yeah, sure. Let's play," he said apprehensively. She squealed again and dragged him into the playroom. For the next two hours, he was forced to endure her shrieks of maniacal laughter as he was submitted to the torture of _playing_. 

"Shouldn't you be going to bed?" he questioned sleepily. Did this kid ever run out of energy? 

"One more game, 'Togi! Please?" She clutched the board game to her chest and peered up at him through her fringed bangs. Her eyes widened further (if that was possible), and her bottom lip started to quiver slightly. Otogi could barely remain standing before her Puppy Eyes™, but he frowned and folded his arms defiantly. 

Tears gathered in the corner of those cerulean orbs. "_Pweeeaassse_?"

The trump card. Otogi sighed heavily and snatched the game from her arms, heading to the table to set it up. His cousin released a cheer and climbed into her chair, snatching the red piece. Red for fire and destruction. Otogi sighed again. She was always red. 

Otogi could barely remain awake, his energy all but drained. And the game was so boring! He wanted it to be over so he could finally get some sleep. He picked up the dice and rolled, hoping for a high number so he could get to the end sooner. 

There was a flash of light and a cracking noise as the dice hit the board. He could hear his cousin's shriek as his hand flew up to protect his face. When he looked back, there were the dice, sitting where they had landed, slightly chipped and blackened. The game board was charred and smoking slightly. 

There was a moment of deafening silence before…

"AAAAAHHHHH!!! THE GAME IS HAUNTED!!! IT'S TRYING TO KILL ME!!! HELP MEEEEEEEEE!!!" his cousin screeched loudly. She shot out of the room as fast as she could, running to her bedroom and slamming the door, still screaming bloody murder. 

Otogi sat there for a while longer, slightly dazed as he tried to figure out what had happened. If the flying dictionary had been weird, this was just bizarre. Finally he sat up and started to put away the game. Inspecting the remains of the dice, he found that the final roll had been double sixes. He moved his playing piece to the end of the path and sighed yet again. 

At least the game was over. 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Otogi sat at his desk at Domino High twirling a lock of hair around his finger nervously. He had been unusually jumpy since the dice incident, and kept getting the eerie feeling he was being watched. The hair on the back of his neck stood up and he glanced over his shoulder anxiously. 

"Otogi!"

He jumped and looked up sheepishly at the blond teen standing in front of him. Jou frowned down at him. "What's with you today? You're all spacey. I've been tryin' to get your attention!" 

Otogi looked embarrassed. "Sorry. I'm just jumpy, I guess. See, I went to baby-sit my cousin this weekend…" 

Jou cut him off with a wave of his hand. "Ah, I understand. I still have nightmares about that brat." Jou had met Otogi's cousin one day when he had gone to invite the other boy to go to the arcade with him and the others. He had found the dice master in a state of panic, trying desperately to protect his DDM models from the pigtailed demon's destructive force. 

"Well yeah, but listen, we were playing this board game and…" He was interrupted again when Yugi came into the classroom. 

"Hey guys!" he said cheerfully. Jou responded and the two launched into a discussion about some new Duel Monsters cards they had received. Otogi heaved a sigh, and dropped his head into his arms. He started twirling his hair again and decided he needed to stop sighing so much. 

Twirl, twirl.

"Otogi-kun?" He looked up at the sound of Yugi's concerned voice. "Are you okay?"

He sighed. "Yeah, I'm fine." He checked over his shoulder, still feeling as though he was being watched. 

Twirl, twirl.

"Would you stop that?" Jou grabbed his wrist. "You're makin' me nervous!"

Otogi mumbled an apology and sighed again. He really needed to stop doing that. 

"What's your problem, man? You need to relax." 

The black haired teen frowned. "I was _trying_ to tell you, but you wouldn't listen" he muttered. Jou opened his mouth to answer, but at that moment, the teacher entered the room and called for attention. The blond took his seat behind Otogi. 

It was a fairly normal day. Unfortunately, teachers have this nasty habit of giving random pop quizzes on the day students seem the most distracted. Otogi discovered that his English teacher was no exception to this unspoken rule. He frowned at the sheet of vocabulary, remembering the dictionary, and shuddered. He started twirling his hair again. 

"_Stop that_." Jou's voice hissed in his ear. "You look totally paranoid right now."

"Shut up. Do your test."

"You still have the papers, baka." Blushing, Otogi realized that he was indeed clutching the quizzes. He set one of them aside and tried to smooth the others where he had crumpled them. He could hear Jou snickering in his ear. "You are such a spaz."

Otogi could feel the heat rushing to his face. He turned around and glared daggers at the blond. "Shut up, _koinu_" he hissed dangerously, slamming the test papers on the older boy's desk. 

Jou was about to protest when his attention was drawn to the paper. With a sharp yelp, he jumped out of his seat, knocking the test to the floor. The girl sitting next to him gasped and slapped a hand over her mouth. The other students tried to see what was happening as Jou stomped on the paper furiously. The teacher hurried over and demanded to know what was going on.

"It was on fire!" Jou cried. His classmates looked at each other in disbelief. "Look!" He snatched the paper from the floor and held it up so they could clearly see the scorched edge of the page. 

The classroom exploded in a frenzy of surprised remarks while the teacher tried to restore order. Otogi sunk down in his chair, quickly paling. _No one saw_, he tried to reassure himself. _Nothing happened. It wasn't your fault_. He looked down at his shaking hands, where only moments before, there had been sparks. 

_What's happening to me_?

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Otogi burst through the door of the house attached to his game shop. He threw down his book bag and hurried to his room, not bothering to turn on the lights before collapsing on his bed.

He realized that his hands were still shaking and clenched them into fists to make them be still. His fingernails dug into his palms, but he was to busy going over the weird events of the past few days to notice. 

Strange things had always been happening to him, but recently they had been occurring more often and closer together. He could never explain these events, and had mostly dismissed them. But they had never been dangerous before…

Otogi eventually fell into a fitful sleep. He tossed and turned all night, trying to free his mind from images of exploding dice and random fires popping up around him. 

He woke to the sound of tapping. Groaning, he rolled over and glared at the ceiling. "I'm up, I'm up…" he called. The tapping continued. He sat up and frowned, tilting his head to the side curiously. It sounded like it was coming from the window…nonsense; he was on the second floor! 

He stood up and made his way to the window, pulling back the drapes. He blinked in the bright morning sunshine streaming through the glass. After his eyes had had a chance to adjust to the light change, he looked out at the ledge beneath the window. 

He promptly pulled the curtains closed, heart pounding. He took several deep breaths, trying to relax. He was still dreaming. He was seeing things. His mind raced to find any sort of explanation. He was an intelligent, logical person. Intelligent, logical people do not set things on fire or make dice blow up. Intelligent, logical people do not make things fly. 

Intelligent, logical people do not wake up to owls on their windowsills. 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

And that's the first chapter! Yeah!

**HELP!!!**

Now that I have your attention, I need your help. I need ideas for a Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. I keep wanting to do a ghost or something… And I can't decide which house to put Otogi-kun in! I keep thinking Hufflepuff, or maybe Ravenclaw, but I could do so much more if I put him in Gryffindor! This is so hard. Maybe this wasn't a good idea…*sniffle*

Oh well. For now, *deep breath* WHEEEEEEEE– *stops short of the pole* Mwahaha! I won't fall for that again! *turns around and runs into another pole* x_x

Ryou: Um…please review? 

Otogi: No, no, like this. *tosses hair and flashes a smile* Review. It'll make me happy…*winks*

Otogi fangirls: *scramble for review button*

Ja ne minna!


	2. Open minded

Okay…[sigh] I was going to update this the other day, but FF.net was broken and I couldn't log in. Pretend that you're reading this on July 7, m'kay?

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YEEEEEEAAAAAHHHHH!!!!! [slams into pole from last chapter] Ow…Hello, minna. I updated! YEAH!!!

Otogi: Yeah!

Bakura: Yeah. 

Ignore him. He's sulking 'cause he's not in this story.

Bakura: Shaddup. 

Meh. [glomps pole] SMACK [hits head] Ouches…meet Skelly! He is the pole that I keep running into. He is now the official muse for Magic Dice. Isn't he cute? [huggle-smack]

Otogi & Bakura: O.O [back away]

Mokuba: [walks onto set] Hey, 'Zure.

♥ MOKY-CHAN!!! ♥ [super-glomp] HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MOKY!!!

Mokuba: Can't…breathe…

July 7 is Mokuba's birthday! Two days before mine! Yes, that's right, my birthday is July 9! I will be 14. [winkwinknudge] Not that I'm hinting at anything ;-) … So Moky-chan, what do _you_ want for your birthday? ♥

Mokuba: …air…

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Japanese

Ja ne: Later, see you later

Minna: Everyone

Tenshi: Angel

- - ♣ ♥ ♪ ♥ ♣ - -

Disclaimer: [playing with Mokuba's hair] Skelly, do the disclaimer.

Skelly: … (He's a pole! What did you expect?)

Fine then. I don't own Harry Potter, Yu-Gi-Oh!, or London City Airport, which is mentioned briefly in this chapter. Yes, it's real. If I did own those things, I'd be veddy, veddy rich. But I don't. I'm poor. [sniffle] I _wish_ I owned this cute lil guy, but I don't. [continues playing with Moky's hair]

**WARNING!** Crappy dream sequence ahead! Seriously, I don't know why, but I can't do dreams. Sorry! I made up the girl in the dream, and it's pretty obvious who she is. Look at the description. Seriously. Look! You're not _that_ stupid. Guess.

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Magic Dice

Chapter Deux

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_Otogi leaned back against the trunk of the willow tree and closed his eyes happily. A soft breeze whispered through his jet-black hair, and he could hear birds singing in the branches overhead. Opening his eyes, he stared across the glassy surface of the lake before him, rippling slightly with the wind, to the forest on the far side. Off to the side of the lake near the forest, he could see a humble cottage, surrounded by a well-kept vegetable garden. The postcard landscape was all gentle hills and green grass, clear blue skies and puffy white clouds that drifted lazily across the early summer afternoon. _

_Turning his head to the side, he smiled at the girl lounging next to him. She seemed to be in her early twenties. Curly black hair cascaded over her shoulders and past her waist to brush the ground. A light pink dress complimented her slender figure and brought out the brilliant yellow-green of her eyes. _

_Feeling his eyes on her, she turned to Otogi and smiled back at him. She had such a sweet smile, red lips parted slightly, eyes twinkling with an inner laughter that suggested mischievousness. Just looking at her smile made him feel nostalgic._

_"Otogi…" Her voice whispered in his mind, so soft it could be lost in the gentle breeze. She took his hand in one of hers, the other finger-combing his hair. "My dear Otogi. I have a prophecy for you."_

_"Oh?" He smiled up at her. _

_"Be very careful, my tenshi. You carry a powerful secret within you, a great power that was given to you. They will try to take that power from you, but you must not let them. You must protect your secret gift."_

_Otogi frowned. "What secret? And who will try to take it?"_

_The girl sighed. "You can't lose it. It's just not yours to lose."_

_"I don't understand."_

_"You don't have to." She leaned over and kissed his cheek. "It's time to wake up now, tenshi. You don't want to be late, do you?"_

_"Wait-"_

He woke up.

♥ ♪ ♥ (See? I told you it was crappy!)

"Harry! Harry, over here!"

The black haired boy turned towards the voice, pushing his glasses up where they had been slipping down his nose. He smiled as he spotted the familiar brunette girl waving at him from the nearby ice cream shop. He hurried across the street, and as he neared he could see her red haired companion sitting at the small table occupying himself with a large bowl of ice cream.

"Hey Hermione. Hey Ron." The redhead grinned up at his friend and greeted him around a mouthful of banana split. Hermione frowned at his behavior before turning back to Harry.

"I'm so glad you could make it, Harry," she said as he took a seat next to Ron. Harry laughed.

"It's no big deal. My aunt and uncle were more than happy to get rid of me a week early. What have you two been up to all summer?"

Hermione shrugged and started to answer – "Oh, you know, this and that," – when Ron caught their attention by nearly choking on his ice cream. Hermione watched in slight disgust as Harry pounded the redhead on the back. Ron coughed for a minute, then caught his breath and smiled sheepishly at them.

"Sorry."

Hermione made a disapproving noise. "Well, I told you that would happen if you didn't slow down-" Ron cut her off as she started in on her lecture by turning excitedly to Harry.

"Guess what Dad told me! I was waiting till you got here and I almost forgot about it."

"What is it?" Harry asked eagerly. Hermione was still miffed at being interrupted, but looked interested in spite of herself.

"Well, Dad's been in contact with Dumbledore over the summer, right? A few days ago he was visiting, and Dumbledore mentioned that were getting a new student this year."

"But we get new students every year" Hermione pointed out.

"Yeah, but this kid's our age, so he'll be starting in fifth year with us! And that's not all! He's coming in all the way from Japan!"

"But why?" Hermione questioned. "There's a perfectly good wizarding school in Japan." "I guess he heard Hogwarts is the best."

"And why is he starting so late?" Harry was equally confused.

"Well, don't ask me!" Ron snapped in frustration, "All I know is what Dad told me. I guess we'll have to find out when he gets here."

"Is it a boy? I wonder what he's like. I wonder if he's very different, coming from Japan and all." Hermione got a dreamy look in her eyes. "Oh, I want to go to Japan someday. I can't _wait_ to meet him, he'll just be _so_ fascinating to talk to…"

Ron wrinkled his nose, disgusted. "I'll bet he's a fat, boring slob. He's probably illiterate." Hermione ignored him.

Harry smirked at the disgruntled redhead. "I'll bet he's smart and handsome. I'll bet he's just like _Lockhart_."

Ron paled, looking horrified. He pushed the remainder of his ice cream away, suddenly losing his appetite. "Ugh. I haven't even met him and I hate him."

♥ ♪ ♥

Otogi stepped into the brightly lit airport terminal, his bag slung over one shoulder. A voice came in over the loudspeaker, welcoming him to London City Airport. Otogi could hardly believe he was here, in London, over six thousand miles from the only place he'd ever known, and for what reason? To attend a wizard school, of all things! A week ago, the raven-haired teen was sitting on his couch, never imagining that such a thing could be real, and now he would be a part of it.

_If_ it existed at all.

He had seen many strange things lately, mostly thanks to a certain spiky haired midget, and he had become the kind of person who, given semi-reasonable evidence, was liable to believe almost anything. Some would call this gullible.

Otogi Ryuuji preferred "open-minded".

The letter had included two tickets: one for his plane and the other for the train that would (supposedly) take him to this "Hogwarts". His father had been completely disbelieving about the whole situation, so Otogi had reasoned that, even if it was a silly prank, it was still a free vacation to London.

The letter from the headmaster had said that someone would be at the airport to escort him to this "Diagon Alley" place (he wondered if that was a misprint). It also mentioned that they would easily recognizable. Otogi glanced around the terminal, half expecting to see a cackling old woman with a broomstick and a posse of black cats.

The sight that met his eyes, however, was no less strange. Towering above the crowd was a giant of a man, easily twice as tall as anyone around him and three times as wide. His face was mostly hidden by a tangled mane of black hair. He was holding in his massive hands a sign written in a messy scrawl: OTOEGEE REYUJY.

- - ♣ ♥ ♪ ♥ ♣ - -

To be continued.

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[hides behind Mokuba] Yes, yes, I know it was short, I know it was stupid and crappy and all that, but I _really_ wanted to get it up in time for Moky's birthday. I'm very, very, very sorry.

Readers: [holding torches and pitchforks]

Um…I love you? [runs away dragging Mokuba]

Otogi: [sweatdrop] Uh, yeah. If you leave nice reviews and sugary treats, Azure promises to have another chapter by Haga's birthday (July 21) or, at the latest, Bandit Keith's (August 12). So, make sure you review!

Bakura: And guess who dream-girl is! If you get it right, Azure will give you a…[squints at cue card]…metaphysical cookie. [shrug]

Ja ne minna!


	3. Cliche Alley Scene

HEEELLLOOOOO THERE! (glomps Skelly) Finally sat my butt down and wrote my heart out (plus part of my brother's)! So if anyone's still alive out there-

(tumbleweed)

-um, here's CHAPTER 3!!!!!

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Disclaimer: As of now, Rowling doesn't seem interested in selling, so that's Harry Potter out. And as for Yu-Gi-Oh!, the Kazuki-sama kidnapping plot is evolving nicely, so I'll keep you posted on that.

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Magic Dice

Chapter 3: Cliche Alley Scene

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A General Guide to Being Properly Shocked, or, Do the Goldfish!

By Otogi Ryuuji.

Step 1: Let jaw drop to a hanging position.

Step 2: Allow eyes to grow to an abnormally large size.

Step 3: Pull jaw slowly upward to a closed position before letting it fall to a hanging position once again.

Step 4: Repeat Step 3 as necessary. Try not to blink!

Otogi dimly wondered where his sense of humor had gone lately.

(-) (-) (-)

"Welcome to Diagon Alley," said Hagrid, beaming at the stunned boy. Otogi could only mumble a response as he took in the sights and sounds of Diagon Alley.

"Best be off to Gringotts. Wizard bank."

"Huh?" Otogi said coherently.

"Well, you can't do much without money, now can ya?"

"Oh, but I've got plenty of money." Otogi said, pulling out his wallet.

"That won't work 'round here. Yer gonna need wizard money if yer gonna live in the wizard world. It's a whole different system, see. I'll show ya when we get there."

"Oh." They made their way up the crowded main street, Otogi still trying to take in everything at once. His mind numbly registered the various shop signs – Eeylops Owl Emporium: Tawny, Screech, Barn, Brown, and Snowy; Quality Quidditch Supplies; Magical Menagerie; Cauldrons: All sizes, Copper, Brass, Pewter, Silver, Self-Stirring, Collapsible. The moment he turned to look at some fascinating display, something else would catch his eye.

"Here we are. Gringotts," Hagrid announced. Otogi gasped as they approached the snowy white building. They started up the steps when Otogi suddenly froze.

"What is _that_?!"

Standing by the large bronze doors was a short creature with very long hands and feet, dressed in a scarlet and gold uniform.

"Oh, that's a goblin. They run Gringotts."

Otogi stared. "Oh…" He continued to stare as the passed through the front doors. A pair of goblins bowed them through the second set of doors and they found themselves facing a huge marble hall. At least a hundred goblins sat behind the counter, all looking very busy, and more goblins were bustling about, leading people in and out of the many doors lining the hall.

They exchanged Otogi's money for wizard coins and Hagrid explained the money to Otogi as they made their way out of the building. "Seventeen silver Sickles to a Galleon – that's the gold ones, there – and twenty-nine bronze Knuts to a Sickle. Got that?"

Otogi smirked. "I think I can handle it," he said, fingering a Sickle.

"Right then. Robes first, I think." Hagrid said pointing out a shop nearby. Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions, the sign proclaimed. "Listen, how 'bout you get yer uniform and I'll go pick up yer potion supplies, okay? Just wait for me outside when yer done." Otogi nodded and they parted ways.

About ten minutes later, he emerged from the shop, carrying his new robes under his arm. Hagrid was waiting for him with his potion supplies. They headed off down the street, making various stops to pick up the rest of his supplies. As they were walking, a sign on one of the shops caught his eye.

Gryphon Games. Otogi was immediately interested. A game shop? He glanced at Hagrid, who was currently having a friendly discussion with the owner of the cauldron shop. He wouldn't notice if Otogi slipped off to check it out…after all, he'd only be gone a moment.

He hurried out of the store and made his way across the street. Once inside, he looked around eagerly. The walls were lined with all kinds of unfamiliar games and toys. Card games, board games, action figures, and various others filled the shelves. Otogi grinned. He could stay here forever! He moved among the displays, inspecting various items. As he read the instructions on a pack of cards, the sound of voices interrupted his train of thought.

"Oh, come on Harry! I know you can do better than this."

"Oh, you're so modest, Ron. Does the title, "Hogwarts Undefeated Chess Champion" mean absolutely nothing to you?" a female voice asked sarcastically.

"Oh, just 'cause he's never beaten me before…"

Chess? Glad to finally recognize something, Otogi made his way around the display and over to a table where a boy with glasses and messy black hair was losing – badly – to a taller redhead. A girl with bushy brown hair was watching them.

The redhead – Ron apparently – continued to trounce his companion thoroughly as Otogi and the girl observed. As Ron drove Harry's forces back, Otogi decided it was time for an intervention. Sidling over to Harry's side, he quickly surveyed the battlefield and chose an appropriate countermeasure.

"Bishop to G-7" Otogi hissed. Harry hesitated, then followed the suggested move, finding his opponent's queen directly in the line of fire. Otogi watched with slight satisfaction as the white piece was demolished by the aforementioned bishop. Ron stuttered as he realized his arrogant mistake. He quickly scanned for a way rid himself of the renegade bishop but found none. He had left his queen completely open.

Growling, Ron strengthened his attack in his next move, vowing not to make any more careless mistakes. However, with a few more instructions from Otogi, he quickly found himself backed into a corner. Harry moved his knight forward and suddenly froze, his eyes on the piece.

"Check…mate?"

Blink. Blinkblink.

As the two sat staring dumbly at the board, Otogi took this opportunity to acquaint himself with their lady friend.

"_Bonjour, mademoiselle. _I am Otogi Ryuuji," he said, taking her hand and placing a kiss upon it, _à la France_. "The pleasure is all mine." Hermione blushed severely.

"What kind of dumb na-"

Ron had just returned to the world of the living when Hermione's elbow met his side. She quickly composed herself. "I'm Hermione Granger. It's uh, nice to meet you." Harry cleared his throat and she started. "Oh! These are my friends, Ron Weasley and Harry Potter."

The reaction the trio had expected from this introduction – namely, the gasping and staring – was strangely absent. The stranger merely smiled and asked, "Do you three go to Hogwarts, by any chance?"

"Um, yes actually. We do." Slightly startled by the lack of recognition, Hermione quickly recovered and continued. "Are you new? You look a little old to by a first year…"

"I'm a fifth year, actually, but yes, I am new here." The three friends blinked in confusion for a moment.

"Oi!" Ron cried suddenly, "You're that transfer kid, aren't you?"

Otogi smiled slightly. "Oh, guess I've been found out."

"Wow! We heard about you! You're from Japan, right? What's it like there? Did you know you were a wizard? How are you skipping all those grades? You must be pretty powerful to do that! Are you?" Harry and Ron looked at Hermione in surprise (and slight disgust on Ron's part) as she interrogated the new student.

"Please, please, one question at a time," he answered smoothly, quite accustomed to this treatment from people, fans and media alike.

"How did you skip four years like that?" Ron demanded.

"Frankly, I'm not sure. I only recently received my invitation."

"You don't _know_? How can you not know?!"

Otogi shrugged. "Hagrid said that the headmaster would explain it when I got to school."

Ron grumbled something that sounded suspiciously like "senile old coot…"

Hermione chose to ignore him as she addressed another topic. "You're from Japan, but you speak English very well. Did you use a spell?"

"Actually, I'm fluent in English and Japanese, and I know a little French, Spanish, and German. I am a businessman." Otogi smirked.

"What kind of business?" Harry piped up.

"_So _glad you asked." Otogi responded, preening himself. "I run a chain of game stores in Japan, and I am the creator of a board game that is produced in conjunction with Industrial Illusions."

Slight recognition flashed on Hermione's face. "Industrial Illusions? Isn't that…"

"OTOGI!"

The four teens turned around to see Hagrid moving in their direction. "There ya are! Thought I'd lost ya for a minnit there. Oh, hello there."

"Hello, Hagrid." They chimed in unison.

"See you've bin gettin' acquain'ed with yer classmates, eh? Well, you can chat later, we need to finish up 'ere. Still need ta get yer wand and yer books." He turned to Harry and the others. "You all can tag along if you've got nothin' better to do."

"Oh, can we?" Hermione said, a bit too quickly for Ron's taste.

"I don't mind." Otogi said, winking at Hermione.

(-) (-) (-)

A small bell rang as the group entered the musty wand shop at the end of the alley. Once his eyes had adjusted to the dim lighting, he stared in amazement at the thousands of long, thin boxes stacked on shelves that covered the walls and disappeared into the dusty recesses of the shop. A moment later, he jumped slightly as a thin old man appeared suddenly beside him.

"Welcome. I was told you'd arrive soon. You are Otogi Ryuuji, are you not?"

"Um, yes." Otogi stuttered, for the first time truly caught off guard by something of the wizarding world.

"Shall we get started then? What's your wand arm?"

"Huh?"

"Are you right-handed or left?" Hermione offered helpfully.

"Oh," Otogi responded, holding out his right arm. Ollivander produced a silver measuring tape and began taking Otogi's measurements. The other three students snickered at Otogi's reaction to the measuring tape as he realized it was doing its job quite of its own accord. Ollivander came back with several boxes and dismissed the tape with a wave of his hand. He opened the first box and shoved the wand into Otogi's hand. "Oak and dragon heartstring, 13 ½ inches, bit stiff." Otogi stood staring at him dumbly. "Well, go on! Give it a wave."

Otogi felt more than a bit foolish waving a bit of wood around with no real intent, but it was snatched from him as soon as it was raised. "No, no, try this. Beach and unicorn hair, eleven inches." This too was grabbed from his fingers before he had time to move. "Not at all. Birch and phoenix feather, twelve 1/8 inches…"

Otogi tried what felt like hundreds of wands, each one taken away as soon as it was handed to him. He had no idea what it was this strange old man was looking for, but he hoped that he would find it soon. Finally, Ollivander pulled a red box from one of the shelves. "Hmm…well, this one's a bit exotic, and I don't use this wood much, but…well, it does fit." He turned back to Otogi and held out the latest offering. "Here. Sakura and phoenix feather, 12 ¾ inches, sturdy. Give it a wave."

Otogi took the wand and immediately felt a warm tingling sensation that spread from his fingers. It felt like he had found some part of himself that he had been missing until then. Raising the wand, he flicked it downward sending out a small burst of scarlet sparks that lit up the air and floated to the dusty floor. The others clapped as Ollivander took the wand to the counter and began wrapping the box in brown paper, each fondly recalling their own wand experiences.

(-) (-) (-)

After paying for Otogi's wand, the group left the shop and headed down the street towards Flourish & Blotts. Otogi needed to get his books for this year, as well as those from previous years that he needed to catch up.

He had a lot of reading to look forward to.

At first glance, it looked like an ordinary bookstore. Upon closer inspection, Otogi began to notice some of the odd titles. He stared in amazement at _The Elements of Magic_, by W.S. Jade, and _The Theory of Realms_, by H.C. Karma. Along one wall was a seemingly empty bookshelf, with a sign proclaiming: **The Invisible Book of Invisibility (98 percent off)**.

The group moved through the shop, helping Otogi gather the needed texts. As Otogi turned a corner carrying a large stack of books, he came in contact with a solid mass. With a noise of alarm, he stumbled backwards and slipped on an unfortunately placed book. _The Standard Book of Spells (vol. 1-5)_ and _Beginners' Guide to Transfiguration_ clattered to the floor. Otogi, while attempting to regain his balance, reached out and grabbed the nearest object he could get a hold of.

This, of course, happened to be the cloak of the unlucky person he had run into.

"Ow." Otogi began gathering up his books, hastily apologizing. "Sorry! I didn't see you."

"No, no, it was my fault, I was too interested in my book to see where I was going." The man held up his book, and Otogi scanned the cover. _Serpents of Legend_. A cobra's head stared at Otogi from its reared position beneath the words.

Just then, the large bulk of the gamekeeper came around the corner. "Oi, Otogi. See you've met the new professor. He'll be takin' over for Defense against the Dark Arts."

Otogi took a moment to look over this professor. He was tall and appeared to be in his mid thirties, with dark brown hair that hadn't quite started thinning yet. His sapphire eyes had a look of superior wisdom to them. He smiled politely and held out his hand to Otogi. "Professor Dolon. You must be the new fifth year" he added, eyeing the boy's extensive collection of literature.

"Yes, I am. Name's Otogi Ryuuji. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Oh, there you are. We got the rest of your books!" Hermione came around the bookshelf carrying a small stack of books, followed by Harry and Ron, each one struggling under the weight of half a dozen thick volumes.

"Hey, you three. Come over and meet your new Defense teacher." Hagrid announced jovially.

"Hello." The professor turned to face the students. "I'm Professor Dolon. Nice to meet you all."

The trio took a moment to inspect Dumbledore's latest recruit. Hermione noticed what he was holding and brought it up. "What are you reading?"

"Oh, this? Just a bit of light reading" He held up the text. "I've always been interested in the beasts of legend. In any case, I'm afraid I must be going now. I have a few errands to run. I look forward to seeing you in school." With this, he brushed past Otogi and departed.

"We've got ta go too." Hagrid said, gathering the books and relieving the boys of their burdens. "I'll go pay fer these and I'll meet ya by the door." He shuffled away towards the checkout.

"Are you staying at the Leaky Cauldron, Otogi?" Hermione asked.

"Yeah. Hagrid said I have a room there already. What about you three?"

"Yep!" Hermione smiled. "We're heading back there soon. Are you almost done with your shopping?"

Otogi thought for a moment. "After I get my books, I think that's everything. But I was thinking about getting a pet. I heard that you could use owls to deliver mail."

"That's right. Harry and Ron both have owls."

"If you can call that understuffed ball of feathers an owl" Ron grumbled.

(-) (-) (-)

Otogi led the group out of the pet store ten minutes later carrying a cage containing a large screech owl. They headed back to the pub for the evening. By the end of dinner, Hermione and Ron were bickering, and Otogi couldn't help but overhear a bit of their conversation.

"I'm telling you, Hermione! The guy's bad news."

"Oh, honestly Ron, _lots_ of people are interested in snakes and that doesn't make them all evil!"

"But he's the Defense teacher!"

"And what does _that_ have to do with anything?"

After the group bid each other goodnight, Otogi could still hear them as they walked away down the hall.

"You're overreacting, Ron. Not all the Defense teachers were bad."

"3 out of 4 were either evil or useless. And Lupin tried to eat me!"

"Oh, Ron, you know that's-"

"3 out of 4, Hermione! 3 out of 4!"

(-) (-) (-) (-) (-) (-) (-) (-) (-) (-)

Wheeeee!!! Well there ya go. Hope it's good enough to keep you from killing me. Expect more updates, without the long wait. Hopefully. Eep!

Review please! Flames will be used to burn down school, paving the way for more updates. Ja!

(By the way, RBMIfan figured out dream-girl from last chapter. Congratulations! Look for more of her in later chapters)


	4. The part with the train

Gah...I need to write more, I'm getting rusty. I am updating en masse, so go read my other stuff. Go, go, shoo.

Magic Dice, chapter 4! (You were doubting I would ever finish it, weren't you?)

1-2-3-G-O

Otogi was having a dream. It was a nice dream. Everything was calm, peaceful. He was at school with his friends, just hanging out. He was sitting with Anzu and Honda off to the side, laughing at their friends, who were playing cards. Jou was currently throwing a fit as he lost the third game in a row to Yugi, and Yugi was snickering quietly, trying not to look too pleased with himself. Otogi smiled, that was so like Jou. The poor boy always lost to Yugi. Not because he was bad – far from it – just because Yugi always won.

Otogi smiled to himself. It was a _nice _dream.

Two seconds later, all of it was ended abruptly by a high-pitched, blood-curdling screech that tore through the rooms of the inn, unpleasantly jolting its inhabitants from any remaining hopes of sleep.

"RONALD BILIUS WEASLEY IF YOU'RE NOT DOWN HERE IN TWO MINUTES I'LL TAKE AWAY YOUR BROOM AND PUT IT THROUGH A WOODCHIPPER!"

Otogi groaned and rolled over, blinking blearily at the early morning sun that was shining through the curtains. Glancing at the clock on the wall, Otogi dimly registered the time, 10:23. There was somewhere he needed to be soon, something he needed to do. Something…important…

KNOCK KNOCK. "Oi, Otogi! Are you up yet! The train leaves at eleven, mate!"

Oh. That.

Leaping from the bed, Otogi grabbed the clothes he had laid out and dressed rapidly, praising every god and deity he could think of that he had packed the night before. Kotori, as he had decided to name his screech owl, hooted at him in confusion as he rushed around the room getting ready to go. Otogi grabbed Kotori's cage and checked his hair in the mirror (still perfect) before he left.

He slammed the door open, narrowly missing Ron, who was standing outside with a half annoyed expression. "My god, you're worse than _me._ And as Mum will gladly tell you, that's pretty bad," he grumbled, hefting his trunk towards the stairs. He turned back briefly to glare at Otogi. "Well, hurry up will you? We have to catch a taxi and get over to the station before the train leaves! You can ride with us."

Otogi hurried to follow him, struggling under the weight of his large suitcase. "Oh, but Hagrid said everything had been worked out already. He said someone was coming to get me…" he was cut off as Ron heaved an overly dramatic sigh.

"Oh, well that's just _great_. Look at you, with the special treatment and all. I swear, it's like Harry all over again…." Ron rolled his eyes and grumbled himself into silence as they reached the bottom of the stairs. Otogi stifled a snicker as Ron quaked under Mrs. Weasley's glare. Hermione made her way over to them, smiling at Otogi. "Finally got up, huh? I was wondering where you were. How are you going to get to the station?"

"I don't really know," he responded as the group made their way outside. "Hagrid mentioned something about an escort…"

"Oi! You lot! About time, huh? I've been waiting here for the last ten minutes!"

They turned to see a young woman standing a few yards away. She had a pale, heart shaped face, mischievous, sparkling eyes, and short spiked hair that was a shade of pink usually reserved for bubblegum and cotton candy. She was leaning against a large minivan, a sickly, dreary shade of maroon, motioning for them to come over. "C'mon now, load up or we're gonna be late!"

"Um," Otogi stepped forward, "by any chance are you the escort Hagrid mentioned?"

"No, I'm a kidnapper." She said sarcastically, rolling her eyes. "Will you get in the van already? Dumbledore'll be pissed if you miss the train."

The group relaxed visibly at the mention of the headmaster and started to pile their trunks in the back of the van. As Ron climbed into the van, he took another disgusted look at the paint job. "Ugh. Maroon…"

1-2-3

Fifteen minutes later, the group arrived at the station, clinging to their seats for dear life. Their escort was certainly an…interesting driver. Stepping out of the front seat calmly, she frowned back in the direction of the road. "These muggles need to learn how to drive. Am I right?" She grinned at her passengers, not noticing their frazzled looks. "All right, let's go, all out!"

Otogi climbed out shakily, clinging the cage of his ruffled screech owl, who was hooting indignantly. In the backseat, Harry, Ron, and Hermione's pets were in similar states of panic. Hermione tried desperately to get Crookshanks back into his basket, while Ron and Harry tried to calm their disgruntled owls.

In fact, the only passengers who actually seemed to have enjoyed the ride were Fred and George. The pair laughed hysterically as they scrambled out of the van and both of them made a point of shaking the driver's hand before their mother ushered them away with an exasperated look.

They loaded their trunks onto several trolleys that their escort had managed to produce from somewhere. As they headed towards the platforms, Otogi dug his ticket from his back pocket. Reading it, he did a double take and stopped walking.

"Um…" he spoke up nervously, "I think they must have misprinted my ticket, because this says…"

Harry laughed. "It's not a misprint. It really does say 9 ¾. That's the platform to get to the Hogwarts Express. Don't worry, that's what I thought, too."

Otogi looked confused. "I didn't know they numbered the platforms like that…"

"They don't." Ron chortled. Otogi opened his mouth to speak, but Hermione giggled and patted his arm.

"You'll see," she said as they approached platforms 9 and 10. Otogi looked around, but he couldn't see anything that would direct him to a platform "9 ¾". He could see, however, that the group was attracting a bit of attention from the other patrons of the station, who gave quite a few odd looks, and several people stopped to stare.

The others didn't seem concerned by any of this as they wheeled their trolleys around to face the stone barrier between the platforms. Otogi stared at it doubtfully, wondering if they were really going to do what it _looked_ like they were going to do. After all, that barrier looked pretty solid to him.

"Alright then, two at a time, Fred and George, you go first." Mrs. Weasley said briskly, ushering them forward. Otogi watched in mounting horror as the twins pushed their carts toward the barrier. What were they…they weren't really going to…wouldn't they crash? But just as their carts would have made impact, the two redheads disappeared. Otogi gaped openly as Ron and Harry followed after. Once again, just before impact, the cart and boys were suddenly gone.

"How did…what just…Where did they go?" Otogi stammered, staring at the place the others had just been.

"Here, I'll show you," Hermione said, grabbing Otogi's arm and pulling him forward.

Otogi flinched as their cart neared the barrier, screwing his eyes shut in preparation for the impact. Suddenly, a whooshing noise filled his ears and his eyes snapped open to see a scarlet steam engine standing idle before them, dozens of people loading trunks and belongings on board. A hanging sign overhead proclaimed that they had arrived at Platform 9 ¾, Hogwarts Express, eleven o'clock.

Otogi stared in amazement as Hermione directed him towards the where the others were standing. Glancing behind him, he watched as Ginny and Mrs. Weasley appeared from the archway leading back into Kings Cross Station.

They made their way over to the train and began to load their luggage. When they were done, Ron and Hermione looked at each other sheepishly, pulling something out of their pockets.

"Well…I suppose we should be going now," Hermione said glumly, fastening a brightly polished golden badge onto the front of her blouse.

"Oh, right. You guys have to go up to the prefect carriage, don't you?" Harry responded with a positively sulky look on his face.

"Prefect? What's a prefect?" Otogi asked, puzzled once more by this odd new world he had been thrust into.

"I'll explain it to you when we get on the train," Harry replied, dragging Otogi towards the back end of the train. Fred and George followed them, glancing back at Ron and Hermione with slightly apologetic grins.

"We'll see you later I guess," Ron called to them hopefully.

"Yeah, whatever." Harry said, not looking back once.

Otogi soon found himself in an empty carriage at the end of the train. He took a seat by the window and turned to Harry "So what's all this prefect business about?" Otogi asked.

"Prefects help the head of house discipline the students and keep order in their house." Harry explained, settling into his seat. "There are two from each house, as well as one Head Boy and Head Girl for the whole school."

"Their house?"

"There are four houses that every student is sorted into at the start of their first year. The houses are Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, Gryffindor, and Slytherin. Each one has its own distinguishing values and discernable traits. That's how your house is chosen. The Sorting Hat chooses whichever house it feels suits you best. Does that make sense?"

"Oh, yes, absolutely. Just one thing."

"What's that?"

"What's a sorting hat?"

Harry sighed heavily. This was going to take awhile.

1-2-3

Harry had managed to thoroughly drill Otogi on the basics of life at Hogwarts, and had moved well into Quidditch by the time the train reached the rural countryside. Fred and George had long ago abandoned them for the company of their friend Lee. A plump witch had come by some time ago with a cart bearing all manner of strange treats for sale. Harry was feeling particularly charitable, and had paid for a large pile of snacks.

Laughing at Otogi's expressions when faced with the moving Chocolate Frog trading cards, and snickering as he spat out a sand-flavored Bertie Bott bean, Harry was quite content to forget about recent…events that had kept him from enjoying himself. No, now he was just a normal student, hanging out with another normal student, having a good time on their way to a fun-filled year at school. This was anything but true of course, but at the moment, both boys let themselves think it was.

As Harry was teaching Otogi about the finer points of Exploding Snap, the door to the compartment slid open, and they looked up to see an unfamiliar girl peeking inside. She looked to be about their age, with medium length dark brown hair and sparkling hazel-green eyes. She had a mischievous look to her, and a playful smile danced on the corner of her lips. "Oh, sorry…" She said, glancing around the room. "I was looking for a friend of mine. I guess she's not in here, though…unless you're hiding her somewhere." She laughed at her own joke and took another look at the two boys sitting on the floor. "Hey…I know you," she said, pointing at Harry. "I _don't_ know you. Are you new? I'm sure I'd remember such a handsome face." she giggled, winking at Otogi.

Otogi smiled back at her, standing up and bowing politely. "And I'm sure I'd remember a pretty face like yours. Yes, I'm new here. My name is Otogi Ryuuji, and I've just transferred here from Japan." He looked up, flashing his perfect smile. "And you are…?"

The girl giggled again. "I'm Ethelinde Cayly. But you can call me Lind…and if you call me Ethel, you'll never walk the same way again," she said this last part especially cheerfully.

Otogi laughed nervously. "I'll be sure to remember that."

She grinned. "I really have to go find my friend now…maybe I'll see you later. I'm in Ravenclaw, okay? Look me up sometime." With a final wink, she left the compartment, shutting the door quietly behind her.

1-2-3

Nearly an hour later, the door to the compartment finally opened to reveal Hermione and Ron, looking tired and glum. Ron flopped down in the seat next to Harry and grabbed a chocolate frog from the pile and savagely ripped it's head off. "Of all the stupid gits in the world, it had to be him. That self-appreciating, stuck up, prick, that no-good son of a…"

"Ron!" Hermione snapped at him, cutting off his tirade. The redhead shoved the rest of the chocolate into his mouth and grumbled himself into silence, glaring at nothing in particular. "But he's right Harry," Hermione continued, seating herself across from Ron and helping herself to Otogi's box of Every Flavor Beans. "This year's going to be trouble, that's for sure. You'll never guess who they made prefect for Slytherin."

The compartment door slammed open once again and Otogi watched, bewildered as the other students in the room turned, in unison, to glare at the three figures silhouetted in the doorway.

"Well, hello there, Potter and friends. What's this, another loser to add to the gang?"

"Beat it, Malfoy." Ron piped up "You're not the only prefect here"

"What's this, Potter? Your little flunky appears to have grown a spine." The sleazy-looking, white haired boy in front jeered. "You're right for once, weasel. I'm not the only prefect, but just because you're one too doesn't mean you can protect your little Potter pal. Neither can your little mudblood friend here." Already Otogi didn't like this guy, even if he didn't understand what his deal was with Harry and his friends. Just then Malfoy chose to round on Otogi, continuing with a sneer. "So you're the latest addition to the Potter fan club. By your clothes, you'll be another mudblood," Malfoy waited for some kind of response, but when it never came he just plowed right on. "And a regular freak to boot."

Otogi frowned at the wiry boy; he wasn't going take this sitting down. "Look here, I don't know who you think you are or what your problem is, or what kind of stick you've got up your ass, but I just got here and I'm not in the mood to take any shit from you or any one else. So you can just turn around, take your cronies and get lost before I start to get angry." Malfoy looked shocked. No one spoke to _him_ in such a disrespectful way. He was a _Malfoy_.

"How dare you speak to me like that," Malfoy hissed, drawing his wand, but Otogi beat him to it. Malfoy yelped and his wand clattered to the ground, next to a six-sided die that was sitting innocently nearby. "What the hell was that!"

"I got angry," Otogi smirked mater of factly, fiddling with another die held and ready. "Now maybe you'd like to reconsider my offer." The others could only look on in amazement, as Malfoy growled and spun on his heel, throwing Otogi one last glare before he left, clutching his stinging hand and nursing his wounded pride. One of his muscular, dim-looking henchmen snatched the wand from the ground before slinking after him.

Otogi retrieved his die before returning to his seat with a satisfied look on his face.

"Well, that was annoying." He picked up a chocolate frog and began munching on it. Looking up, he met the others' shocked stares. "What?"

"Do you _know_ who that _was_!" Ron screeched.

"Didn't he say his name was Malfie or something like that?"

Hermione clapped a hand over her mouth to stifle her giggles.

"That was Draco Malfoy," Harry said with a bemused smile on his face. "He's my…well, my arch-nemesis of sorts, I suppose. And has been since the moment we met. His family is one of the oldest pureblood lines in the magical world, and they're very powerful in the wizarding community."

Otogi looked confused. "Why does he hate you so much? I mean, what did your grandfather ever do to his father?" Otogi smiled ruefully at the remark. "Never mind. Anyway, it's just that you all seem nice enough, unless I'm on the wrong side and need to defect before it's too late. I like being on the good side, the whole vengeful bad guy thing never worked for me. Long story," he added, seeing their confused looks.

"Well, I didn't do anything to him directly…" Harry started, not sure how to continue. Memories of the last fifteen years washed over him…visions of horrors he could only imagine…how was he to explain what everyone already knew? He almost thought it would be better to lie, to keep it bottled up…but Otogi was part of this world now, and he deserved to know its truths.

"You see…twenty five years ago, there was a powerful wizard named Tom Riddle…"

1-2-3-G-O

FINALLY! Okay, you know what to do. Button, review, yadda yadda.


End file.
